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Chris Christie signs Internet gambling law

'This was a critical decision, and one that I did not make lightly,' Christie says. | AP Photo

It would allow the playing online, for money, of any game currently offered by Atlantic City’s 12 casinos; online poker is expected to be a particularly popular option.

“I’m sure I’ll experience it firsthand,” said Jonathan Wanchalk, a Lancaster, Pa., business owner who said he frequently played poker online before a federal crackdown on offshore betting sites. “In college, I played poker a lot. It’s basically where all my money came from. Especially with poker, when it was allowed and then it wasn’t, I’m as curious as anyone else to see how it plays out.”

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Gamblers would have to set up online accounts with a particular casino, and could set daily limits on their play.

They also would be subject to the same per-hand limits as gamblers physically present in the casino. Casino executives say final rules have to be approved by the gambling enforcement division, but they expect the state to require gamblers to have to appear in person at a casino to open their accounts and verify their age, identity and other personal information. Payouts could be made remotely to a credit card account or bank account when a player cashes out, if the state approves such an arrangement, the executives said.

They conceivably could even gamble through social media sites, as long as the sites worked with casinos that have an online gambling license, according to state Sen. Raymond Lesniak.

Joe Brennan Jr., director of the Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association, said a new industry is ready to take off.

“We were always confident this day would come, because even after he vetoed the original iGaming bill, Gov. Christie immediately came back to us, to try and find a way to make this happen,” Brennan said. “It took a little longer than we expected, but in the end, it was done right, and now it’s time for Atlantic City to take this and run with it.”

And the Poker Players Alliance hailed the law’s enactment.

“New Jersey has gone `all in,’ ” said John Pappas, executive director of the group, which claims 1 million members, 20,000 of which live in New Jersey. “Residents now will have access to a safe and regulated online gaming market, and the state will have a new source for revenue and job creation - something the federal government has failed to do thus far.”

The bill allows gamblers in other states to place bets in New Jersey as long as regulators determine such activity is not prohibited by federal or any state’s law. It even has provisions for allowing people in other countries to play, although federal law would have to be changed before that could happen, Lesniak said.